Connecticut Colony

Quick Facts: Who was Connecticut Colony?

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Connecticut Colony

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English colonial settlement in New England, foundational to the state of Connecticut.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony led by Thomas Hooker. The English secured their control of the region in the Pequot War. The colony eventually absorbed the neighboring New Haven and Saybrook colonies. It was part of the brief Dominion of New England.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The colony's founding document was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which has been called the first written constitution of a democratic government, earning Connecticut the nickname "The Constitution State". Prior to European settlement, the land that would become Connecticut was home to the Wappinger Confederacy along the western coast and the Niantics on the eastern coast. Further inland were the Pequot, who pushed the Niantic to the coast and would become the most important tribe in relations with colonists. Also present were the Nipmucs and Mohicans, though these two tribes largely lived in the neighboring states of Massachusetts and New York respectively. The first European to visit Connecticut was Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut River with his yacht Onrust.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Accordingly, as the first Europeans to explore Connecticut, the Dutch claimed the land as part of New Netherland and negotiated a land purchase of 20 acres along the river from Wopigwooit, the Grand Sachem of the Pequot in 1633. The Dutch would establish a trading post named Kivett's Point and a redoubt named Fort Good Hope, the future sites of Saybrook and Hartford respectively. In 1631, a group of sachems from the Connecticut valley led by Wahquimacut visited Plymouth Colony and Boston, asking both colonies to send settlers to Connecticut to fight the Pequot. Massachusetts governor John Winthrop rejected the proposal but Edward Winslow, governor of Plymouth was more open, traveling to Connecticut in person in 1632. Winslow, along with William Bradford would later travel to Boston to convince the leaders of Massachusetts Bay to join Plymouth in constructing a trading post on the Connecticut River before the Dutch could.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1631: 1631 Milestone — In 1631, a group of sachems from the Connecticut valley led by Wahquimacut visited Plymouth Colony and Boston, asking both colonies to send settlers to Connecticut to fight the Pequot.
2. 1632: 1632 Milestone — Massachusetts governor John Winthrop rejected the proposal but Edward Winslow, governor of Plymouth was more open, traveling to Connecticut in person in 1632.
3. 1633: 1633 Milestone — Accordingly, as the first Europeans to explore Connecticut, the Dutch claimed the land as part of New Netherland and negotiated a land purchase of 20 acres along the river from Wopigwooit, the Grand Sachem of the Pequot in 1633.
4. 1636: 1636 Milestone — It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony led by Thomas Hooker.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Connecticut Colony

True or False: “The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were adopted before the colony was formally established as a unified entity.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were adopted in January 1639 and served to formally unite the settlements of Hartford, Windsor, and Wetherfield.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Date Masamune — Historical peer (Died in 1636) (1636): Powerful samurai daimyō who founded Sendai and earned the title "One-Eyed Dragon"
• Dong Qichang — Historical peer (Died in 1636) (1636): Influential Ming Dynasty art theorist, calligrapher, and painter.
• Bernardino Ramazzini — Historical peer (Born in 1633) (1633): Pioneering Italian physician, founder of occupational medicine.
• Cornelis Drebbel — Historical peer (Died in 1633) (1633): Pioneering Dutch engineer, inventor, and alchemist known for early optics and submarine construction.
• François Vatel — Historical peer (Born in 1631) (1631): Renowned French majordomo, celebrated for his meticulous service and the extravagant banquet of 1671.
• Henry Morgan — Historical peer (Born in 1631) (1631): Welsh privateer and politician who dominated the sugar trade of Jamaica.
• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek — Historical peer (Born in 1632) (1632): Pioneering Dutch microscopist, known as the Father of Microbiology.
• Baruch Spinoza — Historical peer (Born in 1632) (1632): Radical philosopher of the Dutch Golden Age, known for his pantheistic metaphysics.

Frequently Asked Questions about Connecticut Colony